Service Blueprint for a Restaurant (During COVID)

Now, let’s talk about why I am creating the service blueprint. As a consumer, you generally aren’t able to change much about the businesses you interact with, but this is fun to do as an exercise. I am reviewing the process of getting a meal at a restaurant during COVID. If I were creating this blueprint for the restaurant, I would be doing a few things differently; mainly talking to multiple customers and more in-depth knowledge of the backstage processes. The service blueprint is different from a journey map as the journey map shows just one specific journey. The main reason to create and review the service blueprint is for the opportunities and insights. I will be making both a journey map and a service blueprint for this instance based on my journey. This journey is specific to me and, of course, the circumstances. I use the stage titles rather loosely for my part of the journey, a single visit, rather than the restaurant’s whole relationship. If I were graphing the entire relationship, my example would fit within the use and develop stages, as I am already a customer and not leaving them.

I start thinking about the entire process while looking at the template we showed in What Are the Components of a Service Blueprint?.

My Journey

When COVID started, we decided almost immediately to stay home. It was quite a while before we even ordered take out. I was surfing through Facebook and saw one of our favorite restaurants was doing curbside pickup and filling growlers! We decided to go for it! So we looked at their website and called to order. This restaurant had us pay when we got there. So we parked, called, and mentioned wherein the parking lot we were. We handed them our empty growler and our credit card. A few minutes later, the server came back with the receipt to sign, as well as the food and the filled growler.

The Restaurant

As a customer, we can only see the results of all their extra hard work, but let’s walk through a few things that they have had to do. First, they have to either re-arrange their tables and chairs, remove a few or add something, like signs, to show people where not to sit. Of course, you can see all the signs reminding people to wear their masks, social distance, etc. One of my favorite signs was on a countertop of the checkout counter. “Our counter does not need your support; please do not lean on it and give our employees(workers) some space.” This is a fun way to get a serious message across. Some of the things that are not immediately obvious are the updated cleaning methods. One is to clean a lot more often, with bleach. Employees usually cleaned stuff like chairs, door handles once a day, or once a week; they now clean either every hour or even after each diner. There are stickers on the floors showing where people can stand while waiting to pick up their food. They have to update the website every time something changes, to make sure people know what to expect and the correct procedures and post on Facebook to update their status.

My Journey Map for the Restaurant

• Scope: First visit to the restaurant during COVID
• Persona: 40 something, miss favorite restaurant, want to help support local businesses
• Scenario: Missing bbq, noticed their Facebook post. Advertising parking lot pickup and growler fills that the proceeds will go to their employees that can’t work. Decide this is safe enough and a good reason to enjoy a restaurant meal.
• User Expectations: expect to go to the parking lot, call, get food, growler refill, pay, and go, all while wearing masks.
• Touchpoints: Facebook, Phone, Website, In Person.
• Facebook: I follow them, and so saw when they posted about the proceeds going towards the employees.
• Website: Look at the menu to see what to order, as well as what beers were on tap
• Phone: Call to make an order, make sure it is still ok to bring our growler from home. Call when we arrive at the restaurant.
• In-person: (at the restaurant) One person came out to the car to grab the growler and credit card. The same person brought back the receipt to sign and our food, as well as the full growler.
• User intention: To get good food, good beer and help someone out.
• Steps for the journey (Actions): See notice on Facebook, alert husband and suggest an outing, open the website, review menu, call to order, drive over(remembering to bring an empty growler and mask), park, call to let them know we are there and where we are parked(what car), put the mask on and use hand sanitizer, wait for the person to come out to grab the growler and credit card, wait, sign the receipt, wait, get food, wait, get the full growler. Use hand sanitizer and take my mask off. Drive home and enjoy good food and good beer.
• Emotions: Excited to see the restaurant open and glad to be able to help people in the process of my enjoyment, nervous about going in public – don’t know what to expect, Not exactly bored while waiting, but mellow. Then hungry! The food smells so good. I just want to eat it now! Satisfied – good food, good beer. Overall a good experience.

Stages for the Restaurant Service Blueprint:

• Aware: I saw the Facebook post about the restaurant being open for takeout. So Facebook will go into channel 1. My action is to read the post. My process does not apply to this stage. Timespan is not applicable either. The Facebook post is a backstage support process.
• Join: Next column, join. Here is where my process comes in, I go to the restaurant website and look up details on how to order and pick up. The support process is them updating the website with the COVID specifications.
• Use: For use, I call to place my order
• Develop: Develop is at the restaurant. I call to let them know I am there, and they come out to receive payment and pick up the empty growler. This pointed out an opportunity to add the ability to pay online.
• Leave: I receive my card back, my food, and my filled growler and leave.